OVERVIEW: APRIL 2018 AT DISNEY WORLD

Because of Easter breaks, the first week of April in 2018 will be quite bad, with some of the highest crowds and highest prices of the year. The rest of April 2018 should be be a great time to go to Disney World.

APRIL 2018 CROWDS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

Because so many kids have the first week of April as their 2018 spring break, April crowds begin very high. They drop substantially on April 8 and stay low the rest of the month.

On a crowd scale of 1-11, the week beginning 3/31 has a ranking of 11/highest, and the weeks the rest of the month have a ranking of 4/low+.

DISNEY WORLD SPECIAL EVENTS IN APRIL 2018

APRIL 2018 OPERATING HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

Park operating hours vary by the day, and sometimes change without notice. It is rare for hours to be shorter than Disney has publicized, but Disney may lengthen them in response to unanticipated crowds.

The best way to keep up with operating hours is to check Disney’s official calendars, usually available six months in advance. Major hours updates–often with later closes–can happen a month before.

RELATED STUFF

Sat Apr 21st or Sun Apr 22nd better for Animal Kingdom? Your post states that there will be rare EMH at AK on the Sunday, but the Disney Park Calendar currently only shows EMH for Saturday, and you recommend trying to avoid EMH parks due to higher crowds (makes sense!). We are looking to do Animal Kingdom one of those days – given what you know about EMH and the currently posted park calendar, which do you think would be the better day? Thanks!

Do you have an idea when they might announce the special offer for travel dates of April 24th ish? Past years I think they have offered a percentage off or something. Also, do you recommend booking yourself or going through a travel agent?

Hi Meagan, the deals for April 2017 came out in mid-January 2017, so that’s roughly what I’d expect for April 2018.

A travel agent makes everything simpler–for example, helping you book now, then adding the deals when they come out. If you decide to use one, I recommend the long-time travel agent partner of this site, Kelly B.

Hi We are visiting AK on 8 April and have dining package for ROL which is at 8.45. We also wanted to see Pandora after dark but the park closes at 8.30. Will we still be allowed to walk through Pandora after ROL or will we have to try and catch it at sunset (which I think is about 8pm) then run over to Asia for ROL? Thanks

Tina, I’m not sure, as it’s not uncommon for everyone at ROL to be sent out of the park after close–however a couple of things. First I expect April hours to be extended to e.g. 9.30p close. Second, right at sunset (7.47p your date) is not of much value in Pandora for the night effects, as there is still a ton of light then–you want to target the beginning of nautical twilight (8.11p) or later.

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